Specific IgG antibody responses may be used to monitor leprosy treatment efficacy and as recurrence prognostic markers.

Although curable, leprosy requires better diagnostic and prognostic tools to accompany therapeutic strategies. We evaluated the serum samples of leprosy patients from Venezuela and Brazil for reactivity against the specific recombinant proteins, ML0405 and ML2331, and the LID-1 fusion protein that incorporates both of these antigens. Antigen-specific IgG was highest in lepromatous leprosy patients (LL) and decreased across the disease spectrum, such that only a small subset of true tuberculoid patients (TT) tested positive. The impact of multidrug therapy (MDT) on these antibody responses was also examined. Several years after treatment, the vast majority of Venezuelan patients did not possess circulating anti-LID-1, anti-ML0405, and anti-ML2331 IgG, and the seropositivity of the remaining cases could be attributed to irregular treatment. At discharge, the magnitude and proportion of positive responses of Brazilian patients against the proteins and phenolic glycolipid (PGL)-I were lower for most of the clinical forms. The monthly examination of IgG levels in LL patient sera after MDT initiation indicated that these responses are significantly reduced during treatment. Thus, responses against these antigens positively correlate with bacillary load, clinical forms, and operational classification at diagnosis. Our data indicate that these responses could be employed as an auxiliary tool for the assessment of treatment efficacy and disease relapse.

Leprosy in women: characteristics and repercussions.

"Health is often measured in terms of low mortality; nevertheless, merely being alive is not a measure of the quality of life" H. Méndez Castellanos. Physiological, socioeconomic and cultural factors play important roles in the response of women to Mycobacterium leprae and in the impact of leprosy on their lives. They appear to develop stronger immunological responses to M. leprae than men, as suggested by lower incidence and less severe clinical forms of disease in most areas of the world, as well as stronger reactions of cell-mediated immunity after prophylactic vaccination. Genetic factors and physiological status including pregnancy, intercurrent infection and malnutrition might be among the factors which modulate this response. Women in leprosy-endemic areas of the world, with few exceptions, suffer from marked economic and social dependency and inferiority which can only be heightened by the social stigma associated with leprosy. Nevertheless, they bear an enormous responsibility for the health of their families, often as head of the household, and they often possess a unique capacity to influence community opinion. With the introduction of multidrug therapy, leprosy control throughout the world is no longer an unrealistic goal. Active vaccination may constitute the other factor necessary for eventual eradication of the disease. The incorporation of women at all levels into active roles in health care programs may constitute one of the decisive factors in the success or failure of leprosy control.

Preliminary study of cellular immunity to Mycobacterium leprae protein in contacts and leprosy patients.

Because of the good results obtained in the mononuclear cell (T lymphocyte) proliferative response in tuberculoid leprosy patients and family contacts and healthy Mitsuda-positive volunteers using Mycobacterium leprae soluble extract, we prepared different protein fractions from the soluble extract. We used the T-cell Western blot technique with separation by electrophoresis in SDS-polyacrylamide gels and transfer onto nitrocellulose membranes. Each unstained blot was converted into 18 fractions of antigen-bearing particles and tested with peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 21 individuals including Mitsuda-positive contacts, vaccinated lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients, borderline tuberculoid (BT) patients, and unvaccinated lepromatous patients. The stimulation index (SI) of the contacts was higher to the different fractions in comparison with the leprosy patients. They showed four peaks of stimulation to fractions 66-55, 45-29, 22-18, and 14 kDa. The second highest responders were BT patients, followed by vaccinated LL patients. The unvaccinated patients did not respond significantly to any of the fractions (SI less than 1).

Immunosuppression and cellular immunity reactions in leprosy patients treated with a mixture of Mycobacterium leprae and BCG.

Suppressor reactivity was studied in a group of leprosy patients before and after immunotherapy with a mixture of Mycobacterium leprae and BCG. The treatment increases the responses in lymphocyte transformation tests to levels which are comparable to those observed in BT-TT patients and reduces suppressor activity. The soluble extract of M. leprae appears to be more sensitive than purified intact bacilli in the lymphocyte transformation tests, but this preparation did not induce suppressor reactivity with the regularity observed when using a Dharmendra preparation.